Commencement

Four pounds of flour, two and a half of sugar, two of butter, a small quart of milk, half a pint of wine, eight eggs, two gills of yeast, two nutmegs, two teaspoonfuls of cinnamon, one of clove, or a little mace. Make up the flour, yeast, and milk, exactly like bread, and when fully light, add the other ingredients, and put it into deep pans. If the weather is cool, let it stand till the next day. When it is again very light, add one pound of currants and two of raisins; and bake two hours.

This is excellent cake, and will keep good many weeks.

Loaf

Three pounds of flour, two of sugar, one and a half of butter, two of fruit, six eggs, half a pint of yeast, a gill of wine, two nutmegs, a teaspoonful each of cinnamon and clove, and a little mace. Make up the flour and yeast with milk, just like bread; when it is very light add all the other ingredients, except the fruit. Put in the eggs without beating, warm the wine, and mix the whole very thoroughly. Then put it in pans and set it to rise till the next day, and when light enough to bake, put in the fruit as directed in the general observations at the beginning of this chapter.

Another

A pound and a half of flour, one of sugar, three quarters of a pound of butter, a pound of raisins and currants, four eggs, a nutmeg, a glass of wine, a teaspoonful of cinnamon, half a one of clove. Make up the flour like bread, with a gill of yeast and new milk warmed. When it is perfectly light, add the eggs without beating, and stir all the ingredients together thoroughly. Put it into pans, and when it has risen again, add the fruit, and bake it.

Bread Cake

Five teacups of very light bread dough, that is wet with milk; three of sugar, two of butter, three or four eggs; or if they are scarce, two. Mix it thoroughly, using both hands. Flavor it with such spice, or essence as you prefer, and then put it into three pans such as you use for cup cake and let it stand till perfectly light before you bake it. In winter let it stand in a warm closet, or some place where it will not become very cold, and remain till the next day.

By the addition of spice, fruit, more sugar, etc, you can make it as rich as you please.

Ellen's Bread Cake

Rub to a cream one cup and a half of sugar, and a large half-cup of butter. Then add one beaten egg, some nutmeg, half the juice of a lemon, and half the rind, and two cups of light bread-sponge, or light dough. Dissolve a small teaspoon-ful of saleratus in a little milk, and stir in also enough flour to make of the consistency of cup-cake. Put it in two pans to rise for an hour or more.

Note. - When these receipts were first written, the use of wine in fruit-cake was considered indispensable. The juice of lemons is a very good substitute.